The present invention relates to hair styling devices, and particularly to hand held hair dryers of the type designed for use with attachments for altering the flow of air from the barrel of a hand held dryer.
Hand held dryers are well known for use in styling hair and are commonly used by both individuals and professional hair stylists. It is common for such dryers to be provided with a plurality of styling attachments, such as, but not limited to, combs for combing the hair while drying, diffusers for diffusing or dissipating the flow of air from the dryer barrel outlet to reduce the velocity of the dryer outlet air and spread the air over a larger surface area, and concentrators for concentrating and/or increasing the velocity of the air dispensed from the dryer barrel outlet.
Typically available hand held hair dryers are provided with a plurality of such attachments. When the user or stylist desires to employ one of the attachments, they are typically pressed onto the end of the dryer barrel and temporarily held there with a friction fit. Since the dryer outlet barrels are typically circular or ovate, the attachments are often provided with a tubular rear end of slightly larger diameter to form a mating friction fit with the barrel outlet. In use, the attachments are pressed onto the barrel outlet. It is also known to provide a resilient, biased lip on the rear end of the outlet which is resiliently retained within an inner diameter of the dryer outlet barrel. It is also known to clip the attachments onto the end of the barrel.
However, one drawback of such attachment scenarios is that the attachment often slips off the end of the generally smooth, cylindrical or ovate dryer barrel. In addition, when the attachment is relatively large and heavy, as is often the case with large diameter diffusers, there is insufficient retaining surface area between the dryer barrel and the attachment to securely retain the attachment on the barrel. As such, the conventional attachments are susceptible to becoming loosened or dislodged from the dryer barrel.
Thus, there is a need for a mechanism for attaching styling attachments onto cylindrical or ovate hand held hair dryer barrels which promotes secure yet releasable attachment. There is also a need for an attachment for a hand held hair dryer which is releasably lockable to the generally circular or ovate dryer barrel to prevent unwanted disconnection during use.
Accordingly, the present hair dryer attachment system addresses the above-described needs by providing a dryer and a plurality of attachments. A fastening mechanism is provided so that multiple attachments are each securable to the generally circular or ovate dryer barrel using the same fastening technology. Each of the attachments forms part of the barrel, and when used with a shortened barrel, as is provided here in the preferred embodiment, a so-called xe2x80x9cstandard-lengthxe2x80x9d drier is provided which provides the additional benefits of the respective attachments, without being overly long so as to be cumbersome during use. This advantage is especially pertinent to occasions when the user is drying/styling her or his own hair.
Another feature of the present system is an aeration barrel attachment, which provides a generally cylindrical or tubular body having a perforated sidewall and a blocked end. Air flowing into the body is emitted radially only, and not axially. Thus, hair can be gently dried from root to tip without overheating or drying out the scalp.
Still another feature of the present system is a finger attachment including a plurality of extending fingers, each of which is provided with at least one airflow opening for combing and drying the hair near the scalp. In addition, this configuration preferably provides increased lift of the hair and/or increased hair volume. It is contemplated that other attachments are provided with the system, depending on the application, such attachments including concentrators, diffusers and/or styling attachments.
In the preferred embodiment, the fastening technology is provided in the form of spaced, radially projecting lugs on the exterior of the dryer barrel which engage bayonet-type xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d-sockets in rear margins of the attachment. The attachments are each thus secured to the dryer barrel through the use of a xe2x80x9cpush-and-twistxe2x80x9d motion. In this manner, the attachments are releasably locked to the dryer barrel, and unwanted disengagement of the attachment from the dryer barrel is prevented.
More specifically, in one embodiment, a combination of a hand held hair dryer and a plurality of styling attachments is provided, including a hair dryer including a housing and a barrel with an outlet, the barrel being provided with at least one engagement formation for retaining a styling attachment. A plurality of styling attachments are also provided, each attachment being provided with at least one complementary formation for releasably engaging the corresponding at least one engagement formation for releasably locking the attachment to the barrel, the at least one complementary formation being disposed on an apron of the corresponding attachment, the apron being configured for being supported by the barrel between the at least one engagement formation and the outlet.